1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a photographing apparatus, capable of obtaining a photographed image in which a subject focused by a photographer is emphasized.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, a photographing apparatus such as a digital camera and a digital video, using a solid-state imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor and a CMOS (Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensor, is widely used.
By the way, in order to obtain a photographed image having a so-called “blurred taste” in which a specific subject is clearly photographed out of photographing targets, and the other subjects other than the specific subject are photographed in a so-called focus blurred state, and as a result, the specific subject is emphasized so as to stand out as a whole of the photographed image, it is necessary to use a photographing apparatus of a type in which a size of the solid-state imaging element or a diameter of a lens for forming the photographed image onto the solid-state imaging element is large, for example. According to this type of photographing apparatus, it is possible to photograph by making a depth of field sufficiently shallow, and thus, it is possible to obtain the photographed image having a so-called “blurred taste” in which the specific subject stands out.
However, when a photographing apparatus, such as a so-called compact type digital camera, of which the size of a solid-state imaging element or the diameter of a lens is small is used, it is not possible to photograph by making the depth of field sufficiently shallow, and thus, it is difficult to obtain the imaged image having a “blurred taste”. Further, in either type of photographing apparatuses, it is difficult to obtain the photographed image in which a specific subject is emphasized by imparting a difference in luminance, a difference in chroma, etc., between the specific subject and the other subjects.
It is noted that according to a certain image processing apparatus, firstly, one reference image data is outputted by separating into individually independent two image data, i.e., image data of a subject area and image data of a background area. Then, the separated background image data is performed on a blurring process, and thereafter, the blurring-processed background image data and the reference image data are composed. After the composition, in order to prevent the generation of a strange feeling resulting from a saw-tooth shaped border line between the background area and the subject area, an anti-aliasing process is performed. As a result of a series of such processes, it becomes possible to obtain the image having a “blurred taste”. Thus, although this image processing apparatus is able to obtain the image having a “blurred taste”, a series of the above-described complicated processes are needed.